


By the Numbers

by ARtheBard



Series: JEmily Forever [9]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 21:38:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10772949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ARtheBard/pseuds/ARtheBard
Summary: The team heads to Pensacola, FL to find a serial rapist and murderer, as JJ continues to struggle with leaving Henry behind.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place about a month after #8. It is their last case with Hotch out on leave after his wife's death. Started it with the climatic scene just to try something different. It is a method I have used a few times since.

Emily stares down the barrel of her gun. The man’s smile never falters. The knife he holds against the blonde woman’s throat is steady.

“Let her go or I will shoot,” Emily tells him.

“No you won’t. None of you will. Not while I have her,” he pulls the woman tighter to his chest, making her whimper involuntarily.

Emily’s trigger finger tenses then relaxes. She knows the rest of her team is there but she is the only one with the right angle, the only one who can possibly stop this man before another woman dies.

“No one else has to die, Edgar. You can walk out of here alive if you put the knife down.”

“Let’s see…alive in a cell knowing I gave up the chance to kill one last, wonderful time or death as I get off once more?” He leers at her. “It really is orgasmic, you know. Have you killed before Agent Prentiss?”

She doesn’t answer but faces flash through her mind. She remembers everyone who had died at her hands.

“Yes…yes, you have. I can tell. I can see it in you eyes. Are you eager to make another tombstone? Eager to send another bastard to hell? Or are you too scared you’ll hit her?” He draws his tongue up his captives’ ear. The crying woman shivers, fear leaving her speechless.

Emily ignores his sexually aggressive act. She ignores the torn blouse, the missing pants of his captive. She doesn’t allow herself to see the tell-tale bruising on the woman’s inner thighs. She avoids glancing at the one exposed breast covered in burns and bite marks. She will not stare into the terrified blue eyes.

“Edgar, if you kill her I kill you. You will never even get the chance to celebrate her death. You won’t be able to relive any of the deaths. You die and the world goes on. You will be forgotten, your kills never thought of again by anyone. But you put that knife down and let her go then everyone will want to talk to you, to find out about why you did what you did. You’ll be the toast of the criminal town.”

“Ooo, you really do know the way to a murderers’ heart, don’t you, Emily. May I call you Emily?”

“Put the knife down and you can call me whatever you like,” she replies.

He stares into Emily’s eyes. He knows she won’t let him walk out of here with his hostage. But he can see she’s emotional. The beauty of his own twisted soul is his lack of emotions. Edgar doesn’t care about anyone’s life. Emily cares about the woman he holds. And that is why she will lose even if she wins.

“I don’t think so, Emily. I think it’s time to see who’s faster: me or you?”

Emily’s eyes narrow. It’s the end. She sees his arm tense and the knife start to slide across the beaten woman’s throat.

She fires.


	2. Chapter 2

**Three days earlier…**

“Four women have disappeared in the last month from Pensacola, FL. Two days ago the first woman’s body was found. She had been beaten and raped repeatedly until she succumbed to her wounds. The third woman taken was found the next day. Victims two and four are still missing.”

“The victimology is all over the place. Different hair color, different ages, different heights so why do the police think all four victims were taken by the same unsub?” Reid asks.

JJ clicks her remote and new images populate the TV screen behind her. “There were numbers written in the women’s lipstick on their car window.”

“Oh, shit,” Emily murmurs.

“And the numbers start at 12,” JJ finishes.

“So, there are 11 other women out there somewhere? He’s got 15 victims?” Morgan asks.

“Garcia is already running the signatures we know. If any police department reported the numbers in combination with the methods of torture and death she’ll find it,” JJ answers.

“Of course, he could have started the numbering at 12,” Rossi points out. “He may have been upset that no one had noticed his first 11 kills.”

“If he’s desperate for attention, his kills are going to get more gruesome. This is going to get uglier before it gets better,” Reid states.

“Which is why we’re leaving first thing in the morning,” JJ says.

Emily looks up at her. “Uh, we?”

JJ looks around and sees everyone staring at her. Despite the horrible murders she can’t help but smile. “Oh, did I forget to mention I’ve been cleared for field duty finally?” She pushes her papers towards Morgan.

This would be the fourth case Morgan has taken lead on since Hotch had been out. It was the first since Nashville that JJ would be allowed to return to the field with the team. Technically she shouldn’t have been in Nashville but things were so crazy no one, not even Straus, had pushed to keep her back. After that case JJ had helped from behind her desk at Quantico. And it had nearly driven her insane.

Emily smiles. “Why you dirty little sneak! When did that happen?”

“So maybe I didn’t have a budget meeting this morning,” she says with a wink.

“Well, then it seems Rossi no longer has to be the media darling,” Morgan jokes. “Guess we’ll let him try his hand at investigating.”

“Ha ha, Derek,” Rossi says dryly. “Good to have you back, JJ. The media nearly ate me alive the last two cases.”

“You’re just too nice for your own good, Rossi. Someday I’ll teach you how to handle yourself around the jackals,” JJ promises.

Morgan stands. “Okay, people, clear your desks. If the storms clear we’ll plan to take off at 7 a.m.”

“And if they don’t clear?” Reid asks.

“We’ll be in for a long drive,” he answers.

Groans greet that thought. As everyone heads out, Emily turns to her wife.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

JJ leans against the table. “I was scared I wouldn’t get cleared. I’m still having issues with breathing but they didn’t think it was enough to endanger myself or the team. I think it helped that I told them I was planning plastic surgery in December.”

“Good. I know this may sound selfish but I’ll be glad to have you back in the field with us.”

JJ smiles at Emily. “I know this has to sound completely crazy but, I miss it, too.” The blonde gets serious. “Emily…I can’t give this job up. What does that say about me as a mother? Look what nearly happened to us right before the wedding? And a month ago we…we buried Hailey and now Hotch is…is still trying to find ‘normal’, whatever that is, for himself and Jack. And yet I know I can’t walk away from this.”

Emily takes JJ’s hands. “It makes you an FBI agent  _and_   a mother. And there is nothing wrong with that, Jen. Is Henry going to stay with Garcia?”

“Yep. It just makes it a little easier for him rather than going to my parents.”

Emily stares into JJ’s eyes. She takes a deep breath. “Maybe…maybe we should consider, you know, a nanny.”

JJ studies Emily a moment. “Are you sure? I know why you have your reservations about having one.”

“But it would be better for Henry to have his own bed each night. And I trust you to call me out on it if I start acting like an asshole. I don’t want to be an absent mother to Henry or any of our kids. I don’t have to turn into my mother and father, right?”

JJ can see Emily is still nervous about relying on a nanny. However, it would give them a degree of stability for Henry. JJ squeezes Emily’s hands.

“We can discuss it more after this case, alright? We don’t have to decide anything today. But I promise if we do get a nanny you can bet your ass I will call you on your bullshit if you start ignoring our son.”

Emily smiles. “You always say the sweetest things.”

JJ laughs as Emily kisses her on the nose and then heads back to her desk. JJ gathers up her files and heads back to her office. She was looking forward to getting back into the swing of things again.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning JJ and Emily take Henry to his day care. It takes JJ a little longer to say goodbye to him. To allow her some extra time, Emily takes his overnight bag up to Garcia.

“Here you go, Pen. Should be plenty of diapers, clothes and bottles. But if you need anything else you’ve got a key to the condo.”

“Excellent. Don’t worry, I will spoil him more rotten than you do,” Garcia promises.

Emily laughs. “And I know that’s a promise not a threat. Thanks, Pen.”

Emily gives Garcia a kiss on the cheek then heads back down to the entry level. She finds JJ sitting on a bench outside the day care.

“All set?”

“I guess so.”

Emily stares at her wife a second then sits down beside her. “Jen, I will support you no matter what you decide. You know that.”

JJ slowly turns and stares at Emily. “Yeah, I know,” she says choked up.

“And the team will, too. No one will think less of you if you decide you can’t go.”

JJ stares down at her hands. “It’s like ripping off a band-aid: the faster the better. I just need to get up and march out of here. Right?” She turns to Emily and gives her a small grin. “Think he’s too young to be an agent and come with us?”

Emily chuckles. “I think even with my connections we’d have a hard time pulling that one off.”

JJ takes a deep breath and nods. “Thought so. Okay, so, let’s go save some lives.”

“You sure?”

“If you ask me again I may say no so get your butt up and drive us to the air strip, Agent Prentiss.”

Emily stands, smiling at her wife. “As you wish, Agent Jareau.”

Once they get to the plane Emily notices JJ seems a little steadier. The brunette sighs in relief. Spencer makes eye contact with Emily; a quick dart of his eyes towards JJ asks a silent question. Emily gives him a smile and nods. Spencer looks relieved. It touches Emily to no end that the members of this team can see JJ’s struggle and worry about her. She squeezes his shoulder in thanks as she passes by him.

Once they are in the air, the team gathers in the center of the plane. Morgan addresses the team.

“Okay, first things first. I got a call from Hotch last night.” He pauses, enjoying making the team wait in anticipation of his next statement. He gives them a big smile. “He’s coming back.”

The team lets out a cheer.

“That’s great! When?” Spencer asks.

“His aim is to start back tomorrow. That will give him a 2 day work week to ease back into the swing of things. If all goes well, this will be the last case that I have to do all the damn paperwork.”

“Gee, then maybe you can get my paperwork back to me on time,” JJ teases.

“Watch it, blondie,” he jokes back.

Before JJ can say anything more her phone rings. She moves away from the team to answer it so they can start to brainstorm on the case.

“Agent Jareau.”

“This is Detective Seavers. We found Rosie Taylor this morning,” he says without preamble.

“Has she been moved yet?”

“No. I’m standing here waiting for the crime scene techs now.”

“It would help us to see her where she is. We’ve been cleared for a priority flight plan and should be on the ground in about 2 hours.”

“Good. And also, we found another car. It’s owned by Jamie Stevens.” He gives JJ the woman’s address and car information, knowing the FBI would want to run a check on her. “This guy’s not slowing down, is he?”

“No. It looks like he may be accelerating.”

“Son of a bitch,” Seavers mutters. “Please tell me you have an idea how to stop this guy?”

“We’re working on that now, sir. Please try to leave the scene as intact as possible. Everything is a potential clue for us. I’ll call you as soon as we land.”

“Thank you, Agent Jareau.” He disconnects. JJ stares at her phone a moment then returns to her team. She hears Spencer’s speculation as she sits down beside Emily.

“Pensacola has a huge Naval population which means a transient community. This could be why we’re starting with victim number 12.”

“Uh, guys,” JJ interrupts. “Victim number 2, Rosie Taylor was found this morning. Detective Seavers is going to hold the scene for us.”

“Good,” Morgan states. “Prentiss, Rossi, check it out. Reid I need you to—”

JJ stops him. “There’s more, Morgan. A car belonging to Jamie Stevens was found with the number 16 written on the windshield. Seavers will hold that scene, too.”

Morgan drops the folder in his hand to the table. “Shit. Okay, Reid, you and I will head to the car. JJ, would you mind getting things set up for us at the police station?”

“No problem. I can get with the police spokesperson to make sure we’re staying ahead of this. If the media hasn’t picked up on it yet they will soon.”

“Great. And then we’ll have to deal with the hysteria surrounding a serial killer,” Rossi notes.

“Not just a serial killer,” Emily points out. “He’s on a spree and he’s gathering victims before he’s done with ones he already has. My guess, based on the autopsy reports is he’s hunting while his current captives are recovering from the torture.”

Morgan nods. “Good theory. The only think bothering me is the victimology. We don’t know who to warn or what these women do to catch his eye.”

“Maybe it’s just convenience,” Reid suggests. “He looks for women alone and no one around to see anything. So far there hasn’t been a single witness to his abductions. Like a predator in the wild, he looks for the easiest target to feed his needs.”

Emily shrugs and nods. “It’s as good a guess as any right now. Let’s hope these two new scenes tell us something more than the pictures we have do.”

“And let’s hope they’re our last two scenes,” JJ wishes.

“Here, here,” Rossi seconds.


	4. Chapter 4

“Detective Seavers?” Emily asks, flashing her credentials to the officer guarding the perimeter of the crime scene. He points towards a man in jeans and a short-sleeved polo shirt. Emily and Rossi duck under the crime scene tape and head over to the man.

“Detective Seavers?” Emily calls out. The man turns. “I’m Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss, this is SSA David Rossi, with the FBI.”

He extends his hand to them, looking relieved. “I’m really glad to see you. I’ve read plenty of information about serial killers and spree killers but I know I’m in over my head on this.”

“We’re here to help,” Rossi comforts him. “Give us a rundown of what we have here.”

“Joggers found her this morning. They disturbed her only long enough to make sure she’s dead. We’ve taken a DNA swab from them in case they left anything on her by accident.”

“Were all the victims found out in the open like this? In high traffic areas?” Rossi inquires.

“Yes. The assumption is they are dumped at night so the earliest joggers or dog walkers will stumble upon them.”

Emily looks at Rossi. “So, he hates women so much he tortures them and rapes them until they die but then he wants to make sure the bodies are found. Is that remorse?”

Rossi shrugs. “Maybe. Or maybe it’s boasting. ‘Hey, look what I’ve done’.”

Emily nods her head. “That sounds more plausible with what we know so far. A classic narcissist.”

“Uh, I’m sorry, Agent Prentiss, but what do you mean?”

“Numbering his victims for the police is his way of bragging about how much he’s been able to do without anyone noticing. It’s also a way of making sure he gets credit for them. By dumping the bodies where they are sure to be found he is guaranteeing that people will be talking about him. He doesn’t want to be caught but he doesn’t want to be ignored, either.” Emily looks at the detective sympathetically. “This is going to get uglier before it gets better. A narcissist on a spree will want to make the biggest headline possible.”

“Then you’ll excuse my French when I say we need to catch this motherfucker soon.”

“Vous êtes excusés, mon ami,” Emily says as she walks towards the body.

Seavers looks at Rossi in confusion. “What did she say?”

Rossi chuckles. “She said you’re excused in French.”

Seavers looks after Emily and laughs. “Well, okay then.”

Emily squats down and stares at the woman’s body. She had been beautiful. Her face is now marred by bruises and scratches. Her blouse has been cut and ripped in various places, its buttons are missing. She leans close to study a mark on the woman’s breast.

“She has bite marks, Rossi.” She looks up at Seavers. “Did the other victims have bite marks?”

“Not that I can recall,” he answers.

She looks up at Rossi. “That’s an escalation. And a mistake.”

“A mistake?” Seavers questions.

“Bite marks can be used for identification. Unfortunately it only helps now if his bite is in the system from a previous crime. But once we catch him it will also help convict him,” Rossi explains.

“What are the chances he’s in the system and he’s bitten before?” Seavers asks.

“Slim to none,” Rossi states honestly.

“Seavers, what is the stamp on her hand?” Emily asks.

“It’s from a local bar. Shows she paid the cover and can drink.”

“Any stamps on the others?”

“No.”

“Damn.”

Emily stands from her examination. She and Rossi start to look around. What can they see from this position? What drew the unsub to this spot? Rossi looks at Emily.

“How did he get her here with absolutely no one seeing him?”

“I don’t know. He’s either damn lucky or he’s got a system down. No one sees him take them or dump them. No one is that lucky,” Emily points out.

“Let’s hope Garcia finds other cases. That would confirm the system; show he’s taken time to perfect his craft.”

“How long had she been dead before she was found?” Emily asks Seavers.

“M.E. thinks she died around 3:00 a.m.,” he says after consulting his notes.

“So dead at 3, found at 6. He had to have known where he was dumping her. And since no 2 victims have been found in the same place he has to be deciding now where to dump the next ones,” Rossi states.

“That’s not a comforting thought,” Emily says dryly.

“Let’s head to the precinct to see what Garcia has for us and then let’s plan on visiting the other dump sites,” Rossi suggests.

Emily nods, knowing the M.E. needs to get the body back for autopsy. They shake hands with Seavers and head to their SUV. Once inside, Emily looks at Rossi.

“I had hoped we’d see something that would nudge us in the right direction.”

“Me, too. Let’s hope the others have something to work with otherwise we may have to pray for the unsub to screw up before getting a fix on him.”

“And if he really has killed as many as he claims he may not be making mistakes anymore,” Emily laments.

* * *

 

“Her shopping bags are in here so she at least made it to her car,” Reid notes.

“So she gets here, gets the door open and her bags stowed, then what? Stunned? Tranq’ed? Hit?” Morgan questions.

“No obvious signs of blood or other liquids. Maybe he asked a question or faked an injury,” Reid puts out there.

“So, essentially, we don’t know shit from this scene,” Morgan concludes.

Reid nods. “Yep.”

Morgan sighs. “Okay, let’s get to the police station. Call Garcia and have her tap into any security or city cameras in this area. I know the police will do the same but I’d like to have her eyes on them too.”

Reid nods and pulls out his phone as Morgan goes to let the officers on duty know they are done with the scene. He glances back towards the car and something catches his eye. He walks over, pulling on a glove, and lies down on his stomach, reaching way under the car. He stands back up, a cell phone in his hand.

“Reid, have Garcia track the number for this phone.”

Reid turns and looks at the number Morgan has pulled up on the screen. “Garcia, Morgan just found a cell phone. The number is 757-555-8924.” Reid looks at Morgan. “757 is Virginia Beach area.”

“Right. Tell Garcia to concentrate her like-crimes search to that area and other military cities, specifically ones with U.S. Naval operations.”

Reid passes the orders on and hangs up. “The cell is a go phone. As soon as she knows more she’ll call us.”

Morgan nods. He takes the phone to one of the officers and bags it as evidence. The two men head to the station to see what has been collected from the other scenes, as well as to meet up with Rossi and Prentiss. Both men hope the unsub dropped the phone but know cases very rarely had such a golden clue fall into their lap.

* * *

 

“So that is the government hack I’ve got to share the spotlight with?” a voice says snidely from behind JJ.

The media liaison takes a calming breath before turning, her voice impassive. “Supervisory Special Agent—Marty!”

The blonde-haired man smiles. “No, I’m Marty. You’re JJ. Guess that blonde does go all the way to the roots.”

JJ laughs and steps towards the man. “Watch it, buddy. I can still kick your ass.”

Marty Copeland grins. “True.” They share a hug. “How the heck are you, JJ?”

She smiles and nods. “I’m good, Marty. Really good. How long have you been down here? I thought you went to Chicago?”

“I did. But given the choices between Chicago winters and Pensacola winters, guess which city won hands down?” JJ laughs. “I took the position of lead media liaison here last year. Until lately it’s been pretty uneventful.”

JJ’s smile fades. “Yeah, I can imagine. Hopefully we’ll help the police catch this bastard and things can go back to ‘uneventful’ for you.”

“I sure as hell hope so. JJ, the press somehow got word about the numbers on the windshields. I’ve been getting calls for the last half hour. I hope you don’t mind but I’ve called a press conference for noon. I know it’s only a half hour from now but please tell me you’ll help me address them.”

JJ nods. “Of course. Sadly, this isn’t my first go around with a killer like this.” She squeezes his arm sympathetically. “I’ll prepare a quick media statement and try to keep the pressure off you. Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect. And then maybe tonight…dinner? We can catch up on old times?”

She shrugs. “That will depend on the investigation. I’ll let you know.”

As she pats his arms again he notices the rings. “Whoa! Don’t tell me the happily single Jennifer Jareau was finally ringed?”

She laughs. “Yes, yes I am.”

He smiles at her, a bit of sadness in his eyes. “I’m happy for you, JJ. He treats you good, right?”

JJ nods. “Yes, she does.”

“Ah. Right. Forgot about…”

“Yeah.” They stand in awkward silence a moment. “Well, I really need to work on that statement.”

“Right. See you at noon.”

The man turns and walks out. JJ watches him a moment then sits down to draft her first statement regarding this case. She looks up once more to see the man she had lived with for 2 years speaking to an officer. He was still good looking, though maybe a bit chubbier than she remembered. But his green eyes still sparkled with happiness. Well, until he’d saw the rings. She hadn’t even asked him about his personal life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: once again, thanks to Babylon Translator for Emily’s French lesson in this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

Rossi and Emily stop by the ME’s office to pick up autopsy’s on the 2 women that have been examined already. As Rossi drives them to the station, Emily starts to read the findings. She frowns as she comes to the “Personal Belongings” section of Pamela Valens report. She quickly flips to that section on Delilah Nicks’ report. Rossi notices Emily’s actions.

“What’s up?”

“I don’t know yet. I need to see the missing reports to be sure but it doesn’t look like anything was taken from them. No souvenirs.”

Rossi frowns. “That doesn’t make sense. A narcissist needs something to help him relive the experience; something that proves his excellence.”

“Let’s just get back to the police reports. Maybe I’ve missed something,” Emily concedes.

Rossi nods, but doubts the agent is wrong. As they pull into the police station, Rossi grins.

“Looks like your wife is at it already,” he says, drawing Emily’s attention from the autopsies.

Emily looks up and sees JJ on the steps of the police station addressing about 20 reporters. As Rossi pulls into a parking spot Emily takes the time to observe her wife doing what she does best. Emily rolls down her window to listen.

“Agents from the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit arrived this morning to assist the local police with their investigation. Right now teams are examining several crime scenes to help us come up with a comprehensive profile of the murderer. As soon as we have more to report we will get in touch with you. Thank you.”

She walks back into the building as reporters hurl questions after her.

“Good job, baby,” Emily murmurs. Her smile dims and her eyes narrow as she sees the man who had stood with JJ place his hand possessively on her lower back to guide her through the door.

Rossi sees this and chuckles. “Easy, Emily. No throwing daggers with your eyes.”

Emily rolls her eyes at her friend. “I wasn’t throwing daggers. Just…curious is all.”

“Right. That’s how I ended up divorced the second time,” he jokes as he gets out of the car.

Emily grumbles something about it probably being his smartass mouth as she follows him into the precinct. He just chuckles. They find Reid and Morgan already in the conference room they will be using for the duration of the case. Emily immediately moves towards the original police reports to check on her theory. Rossi looks at Morgan.

“How’d it go at your scene?”

“We found a disposable phone under the car. Number traces back to Virginia Beach so Garcia has been able to tighten her like-crimes search,” Morgan tells him.

“Great! What about numbers called by it?”

“He either never used it or made a point of erasing his call log on a regular basis. We’re having one of the local techs see if they can pull anything more off it.”

“Any chance for prints?” Emily interjects.

“Nope. Wiped clean,” Morgan admits.

“Of course,” Emily mutters. She glances up as JJ and her new friend walk into the room.

“Hey, guys. I’d like you all to meet Marty Copeland, he’s the local lead media liaison. And an old friend from Pitt,” JJ introduces him. She sees Emily’s eyes widen, as she knew exactly who Marty was.

“Good to meet you. I’m Derek Morgan. These are Dr. Spencer Reid, David Rossi and Emily Prentiss. Our technical analyst is Penelope Garcia and she’ll be in contact with us via phone and computer.”

He shakes Morgan’s hand. “Glad to have you here though I wish your presence wasn’t necessary.”

“I hear that,” Morgan agrees. He looks to JJ. “How’d the conference go?”

“I just confirmed we’re here to assist and promised a profile as soon as we know anything. So…do we know anything?” she asks.

“We know he didn’t take trophies,” Emily states. Everyone looks to her. “Their purses were found in the car along with their keys, wallets, cell phones, and other personal effects. Even the lipstick used to write the numbers was left behind. When the bodies are found, their torn clothes are found with them. Rings, watches, other jewelry all with them. He keeps absolutely nothing of them.”

“Maybe he takes pictures or videos,” Reid suggests.

“Could be,” Rossi hedges. “But they aren’t as tactile as something from the women themselves. Narcissists need that personal connection they get from taking something from their victim.”

“We could be wrong about him being a narcissist,” Reid points out.

“Then why the numbers? Why make sure the women are found?” JJ questions.

“Remorse?” Rossi puts out there hesitantly.

“You saw that woman, Rossi. There was no remorse in the way he left her. No attempt to cover her or give her a degree of dignity. She was just splayed out there for anyone to see,” Emily states definitively.

“And again it sounds like bragging,” Rossi notes.

The agents fall silent, each contemplating the information they have. Marty watches them a moment, then leans towards JJ.

“Are they giving up?” he whispers.

JJ chuckles. “Nope. Brainstorming,” she whispers back. “Come on.”

The two media liaisons leave, shutting the doors behind them. Emily is staring at the papers in front of her when she gets the feeling she’s being watched. She slowly raises her head to find the three men staring at her.

“What?”

Morgan glances at the door, then back to Emily. “Old friend from Pitt?”

“You should have seen the look Emily gave him earlier,” Rossi teases.

Emily rolls her eyes. “Seriously, guys, you expect me to be jealous?”

“Well, yes,” Reid states simply.

Emily smiles. “They are exes. I know all about him. Seems like a nice guy. Now, can we get back to work?”

She goes back to the papers in front of her. The men exchange a look, disappointed they didn’t get a rise out of Emily. Grinning they get back to the grim work at hand. Reid is working on his geographic profile but he is not happy.

“It’s all over the place,” he mumbles. He steps back and tries to find a pattern in the dots he has placed on the map. Is there a geometric sequence to them? Is there a shape hidden within them? In his mind he connects them by lines. But to no avail. His map is no help at all. “I hate when the map is useless,” he states.

“Maybe we just don’t have enough points yet,” Morgan cautions.

Reid shakes his head. “I just can’t see how additional points could help. His abduction and dump sites are so scattered there is no commonality. They are as random as his victimology.”

“Could we be looking at more than one unsub?” Morgan postulates.

“I’d say no,” Emily responds. “Based on bruising patterns and knife strike patterns they look to be the work of just one person.”

“One kills, one dumps?” Morgan tosses out.

“I don’t think so,” Rossi comments. “This guy wouldn’t want to share any part of this with anyone. He wouldn’t want to risk someone spoiling his fun.”

Silence fills the room as they all get back to what they have in front of them, trying to find the puzzle pieces that could save the two women still out there and to hopefully prevent more from being taken.

* * *

 

As the two media spokespeople left the room Marty had grinned at JJ.

“Still addicted to coffee?”

JJ laughs. “It flows in my veins.”

“Come on. There’s a good spot around the corner.”

They head outside and down the street. Marty looks at JJ.

“Tell me about her.”

JJ smiles. “You’ve met her.”

Marty stops, stunned. “You mean…the other agent?” JJ nods. “But aren’t there rules or something?”

“Yes and no. As long as our chief signed off on us being together it’s okay. And since I’m not a profiler technically I’m not out in danger like she is.”

Marty raises an eyebrow. “Technically?”

“Well, you know I’ve never been one to sit on the sidelines. But I still don’t get out there as much as she does. And, for better or worse, we had a couple cases that really tested us. We proved we could put the job ahead of ourselves. The big bosses had no choice but to accept Hotch’s okay.”

“Hotch?”

JJ’s eyes sadden. “He’s our boss. His wife was…killed recently. He’s had to take time off.”

Marty nods. “I can understand why.”

JJ glances at him. “So, no one managed to make you an honest man yet?”

“One woman did. But she was less than honest herself. Divorced after 2 years when I found out she was sleeping with my former best friend.” He smiles at JJ. “That was about the time I decided Chicago winters were too damn cold.”

JJ nods. “I can see why. I’m sorry.”

He shrugs. “I guess I’m one of those guys destined to be alone.” He puts his hand to his forehead dramatically. “I’ll have to love and lose forever.”

She smacks him in the stomach playfully. “I forgot you were a theatre minor. Geez.”

He laughs. “Any kids?”

“Yes. A son. Henry. He’s…he’s my world.” She pulls out her phone and shows him a picture of a giggling Henry being held by Emily.

He smiles at the picture. “They are beautiful.”

She turns the camera to look at the picture herself. “Yes, they are.”

“I’m really happy for you, JJ.”

She smiles up at him. “Thanks.”

They go inside the coffee shop and pick up drinks for everyone. They walk back talking about old college friends they still chat with. When they arrive at the conference room, the other agents look up gratefully.

“It’s so good to have you back, Jayje,” Morgan states. “Rossi never brought us coffee.”

“Because he doesn’t love you as much as I do, Morgan,” she says as she gives him his coffee.

Emily feels eyes on her and looks up to meet Marty’s stare. The man smiles sincerely and raises his cup towards Emily. The brunette grins and nods her thanks. JJ sees the exchange and her heart swells with love for her wife and her friend.

By 4:30 the team is starting to get antsy. So far nothing is jumping out at them that would help them warn the public or aid the police. When Morgan sees Garcia’s name pop up on his phone he prays she has something for them.

“Tell me something good, Baby Girl.”

“Henry is being a perfect angel at day care,” she replies. Emily and JJ smile as the team chuckles.

“Okay, Smarty Pants, something good about the case,” Morgan clarifies.

“Unfortunately that is an impossibility at the moment. I’ve narrowed like-crimes down to several hundred.”

“Several   _hundred_?” Rossi echoes.

“Yes. I’m going to need more information to bring it down some more unless you want me to email you what I have.”

“Did you confine the search to—” Morgan starts.

“Yes, to military installations, specifically Navy,” Garcia interrupts. “That’s how I got what I have now. Now, on the phone, the techs down there took it apart and let me log into their computer to scan the chip. This unsub has very strange phone habits.”

“How so?” Reid asks.

“There were over 100 calls…to the time operator in Virginia Beach.”

Emily frowns. “Why the hell would he need the time there? It’s the same as here plus 1 hour.”

“That, my dear Emily, was not revealed to me by his phone or my computer,” Garcia answers.

At that point, Detective Rick Seavers knocks and enters the room. He looks worn out. Morgan feels for the man.

“Hi. I was hoping you all had some news for me,” he says hopefully.

Morgan shakes his head. “This guy is so scattered we’re having a hard time pinning him down. Our analyst is on the phone and her search has given us hundreds of similar crimes.”

“You don’t know how sick that makes me,” Seavers says as he drops into a chair. He runs a hand through his thinning dark hair. “I should have listened to mother and become a priest.”

The team feels for the man. They can tell he feels helpless and that he is a cop who takes the oath to serve and protect to heart. He will not get much rest until this unsub is stopped and his community is safe again.

“We’re not giving up,” Emily promises him. “We’re just putting the pieces of the puzzle together.”

By 8 p.m. the collected law enforcement officers know they have done as much as they can with the information they have. They have been able to give Garcia some new parameters to narrow her search. They call it a night, praying that the analysts’ search will give them a new direction to take.


	6. Chapter 6

As they walk into the hotel room, Emily drops down onto the bed. She has had a nagging feeling all day that they were all missing something. JJ sees Emily’s mind is still fully on the case.

“Em, if you don’t let it go for a while you won’t be able to refocus on it tomorrow.”

Emily sighs. “I know. But I feel like there is something staring us in the face and we’re missing it.”

JJ sits down beside her and runs a hand through her wife’s hair. “I know, sweetheart. But you know as well as I do that it won’t come when you’re tired and stressed.”

Emily just nods. JJ leans down and gives her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to—”

She stops as Emily’s phone rings. The dark-haired agent answers quickly without checking caller i.d. “Prentiss.”

“Emily. Hello,” Gerald Prentiss says. He can hear the strain in his daughter’s voice. “Is this a bad time?”

Emily rolls her neck. “No, Father, we’re just on a case. I’m a bit stressed out. I’m sorry.” JJ smiles and heads on into the bathroom.

“No, it’s okay. I was just calling to see if you, Jennifer and Henry could do dinner this weekend. I’ll be in town for 4 days for a conference.”

“Oh, uh, I don’t know, Father. The truth is we’ve got women dead and women missing and not a damn clue who the hell to look for. We may be here a while.”

“What about Henry?”

Emily smiles, warmed by the concern he has for her son. “He’s with Penelope. She’s his godmother and he adores her. He’s in good hands.”

“Oh, okay. Well would it be okay if you all don’t get back could I still maybe see him?”

Emily is stunned by the poorly stated request. It is testament to her father’s nerves and for some reason it makes her feel happy. “You really love him, don’t you, Dad?” she asks, her voice filled with awe.

“Yes, I do.” Emily can hear the smile in his voice.

“I think it would be fine if you saw him, Dad,” Emily chokes out.

“Well, you sound tired, honey. I’ll let you get some sleep. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

As she disconnects, JJ steps back into the room. She had overheard Emily’s side of the conversation. She walks over and lies down beside Emily, pulling the woman close. They sit that way for a few minutes until the silent tears Emily had been shedding cease. JJ kisses her gently.

“Have you ever noticed that you call him ‘Father’ until things get emotional? Then you call him ‘Dad’.”

Emily thinks a minute. “I do?”

JJ nods. “Yes, you do. And I’ve noticed the last few times you’ve talked you’ve been calling him Dad more and more.” She kisses Emily again. “I’m really happy about that.”

Emily pulls JJ closer. “Me, too. God, JJ, I never thought I’d see the man again and now…now he wants to see your son this weekend.”

JJ looks into Emily’s eyes. “Our son.”

Emily grins. “I know he’s ours. But it shocks me that he sees that. Blood is important in my parent’s circles. That they both don’t care just…just floors me.” They sit for a moment in silence. “Are we sure about the pod people thing?”

JJ slaps Emily playfully. “Be nice.”

Emily laughs. “Okay. If you insist.” Emily slides her hand up under JJ’s shirt. “Is this nice?”

JJ stiffens as Emily’s fingers tease along her bra. “Y—yes. Very nice.”

Emily lifts the shirt, her mouth goes to JJ’s breast, teasing it through the silk that hides it. “And is this nice?”

JJ arches into the sensation. “Oh, yes. Nice. Yes.”

Emily rolls back, pulling JJ on top of her. She slides the shirt off her wife’s body and quickly undoes the bra that hides the treasures she seeks. JJ moans as Emily fills her hands with the perfect breasts.

JJ feels her hips start to undulate as Emily caresses her hard nipples. She tries to regain control.

“We…we have…rule…no…sex…” she trails off as Emily takes a breast in her mouth, the now available hand pressing between JJ’s legs. JJ rocks her hips against the hand. “Oh, fuck the rule.”

She pulls Emily up into a deep kiss. Emily uses both her hands to get JJ’s pants undone and pushed down to her thighs. She rolls them back over so that JJ is now below her. The blonde is fighting to get her wife’s blouse off but Emily stops her. Instead she stands and slowly pulls JJ’s pants from her legs. With JJ watching, Emily slowly undresses, loving the hunger she sees in the blond woman’s eyes.

“You still have a chance to obey our rule, Jennifer,” Emily teases, as she runs her own hand over her breasts.

JJ just moans. Emily walks back to the bed and starts to kiss her way up JJ’s legs, lavishing attention on first one, then the other. JJ writhes beneath her. Her hips thrust to meet the kiss Emily places on her wet center. Emily continues to kiss higher, purposely dragging her breast against JJ’s clit, driving the younger woman nearly insane.

“Pl—please, Em. Ne—need. Now,” JJ pants.

Though Emily would love to tease JJ all night, she doesn’t want to be cruel. As her mouth latches onto JJ’s, she thrusts two fingers deep. JJ’s hips rise to meet them. Emily uses her thigh to help give her maximum pressure as she pushes deeper and faster. She breaks from the kiss to once again capture JJ’s breast in her mouth.

“Oh, Em! Yessss…”

JJ’s body rises to meet every stroke from Emily. Soon her walls start to clamp down on the fingers within her. Emily trails kisses back up to JJ’s mouth. She looks her wife in the eyes.

“I love you, Jennifer Prentiss.”

As she kisses JJ once more, she swallows the scream of the blonde’s orgasm. A few minutes later, JJ once again regains the ability to speak. She is cuddled up against Emily’s shoulder, safe in the crook of her arm.

“I love you, too, Emily Prentiss.”

They lay there together for about 30 minutes, exchanging light kisses and soft caresses. The silence of the moment is finally broken by…Emily’s stomach. JJ starts to giggle.

“Gee, honey, are you hungry?”

Emily blushes. “I haven’t eaten since lunch so, yes, I’m hungry.” She tickles JJ. “You got a problem with that?”

JJ giggles more, trying to get away from the tickling. “Hey! Tickling isn’t fair, Agent Prentiss!”

Emily continues her assault. “All’s fair in love and food, Agent Jareau.”

After a few minutes, JJ finally gets away. She grabs her pajamas. “I’m going to take a quick shower. Order me a burger, fries and a chocolate shake.”

“Why don’t you order and I’ll shower first?” Emily pouts.

“Because I was smart enough to stand up first!” JJ sticks her tongue out at Emily and dashes into the bathroom.

“Brat!” Emily hollers after her. Her only answer is another round of giggles.

JJ finishes her shower and gives Emily a smack on the butt as the brunette walks past her into the bathroom. Emily just raises an eyebrow at JJ’s mischievous grin. By the time Emily gets out of the shower dinner has arrived. While they eat they flip on the TV in time to catch a recap of JJ’s news conference.

“I’m always amazed at how you can say so much and have actually said absolutely nothing. You could be a politician.”

“And you would divorce me if I switched careers,” JJ points out.

Emily thinks about it a moment, then nods. “Yep. In a heartbeat.” They both laugh.

As the news ends an episode of “Law & Order: SVU” comes on. Emily puts down the controller. JJ looks at her and laughs.

“Seriously, Em? We look at this shit in real life all day and this is what you want to watch to unwind?”

Emily shrugs. “I like to see how implausible the episode is. These are usually pretty real.”

JJ rolls her eyes. “It’s a TV show, babe. You’re supposed to suspend reality for an hour and relax not profile it.”

“I know but---whoa...” Emily trails off.

“What?”

“Mariska Hargitay,” Emily whispers.

JJ looks to the TV and sees the brown-haired actress. “Yeah, she’s really hot. Don’t tell me you have a—what are you doing?”

Emily had leapt off the seat she was in. She hurries over to the dresser and grabs her phone. She flips through the case file photos she has and goes back to JJ.

“Look.” She shows JJ a picture of Delilah Nicks.

JJ is confused. “What? I don’t know what you want me to se—Oh!” She looks from the phone to the TV and back again. “Around the eyes and nose. Maybe the haircut, too, from a different season.”

Emily nods. “Right. Now, look at this and tell me who you see.” She pulls up a picture of Pamela Valens. JJ studies the red-haired woman’s features. Finally she intakes a small breath.

“Oh, God…Nicole Kidman.”

“This is why he doesn’t need a trophy. He’s not killing these women. He’s killing actresses he’s obsessed with.”

“And who needs a trophy from a surrogate when the real thing is on TV somewhere 24/7. He relives the kill every time his remote finds them on the screen,” JJ concludes.

Emily’s excitement soon dies down. “Shit. So now we know why but we still don’t know who or how to find him.” She drops down on the bed. “FUCK!” She shouts, pounding her fist into the mattress.

JJ walks over and sits down beside her. “It’s a step closer, Emily. One piece of the puzzle, right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Emily surrenders. “Maybe tomorrow we can see if there any common restraining orders between the actresses. Garcia should be able to hack that info pretty quickly.”

“Yeah. Look, there’s nothing more to be done tonight. What do you say we crawl under the covers and finish watching the show?” JJ suggests. Emily just nods. JJ leans towards her and kisses her right below the ear, an especially sensitive area. “Or we could turn off the TV and I could help you forget everything, including your name,” she whispers suggestively.

Emily shivers. “Plan B. _Definitely_  Plan B.”

And what a glorious plan it is!


	7. Chapter 7

When everyone gathers at the police station the next morning, Emily and JJ show everyone what they have discovered. The women had managed to associate each victim with an actress: the third victim, Tiffany Abrahms, resembles Renee Zellweger, Rosie Taylor looks a bit like Jennifer Lopez, and Jamie Stevens is a ringer for Angie Harmon.

“So what? We warn people, ‘Hey, if you kinda think you might look like Angelina Jolie please don’t go anywhere alone because a psycho will kill you instead of her.’ Yeah, that won’t cause panic or anything,” Detective Seavers gripes.

Rossi lays a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I know this doesn’t sound like much but it gives us more insight into this man’s psyche. Based on the ages of the actresses, we can guess he’s in his 30’s-40’s.”

Seavers throws his hands in the air. “How the hell do you know that?”

“He would be focused on actresses around his age-range,” Reid explains. “Ones he’s seen for years now and felt he’s grown up with. He feels he’s known these women for years which is why he becomes frustrated that he doesn’t actually have them.”

“Our guess is that the beatings and torture come after the initial rapes. Once he is faced with the fact that these women are not the objects of his fantasy, he snaps. He destroys their faces, to try to maintain the fantasy. Then he destroys their bodies when they just don’t live up to his expectations,” Morgan concludes. He glances around at the team and they nod. He looks to Seavers. “We’re ready to give our profile.”

Twenty minutes later, the team is addressing the assembled police and detectives.

“The unsub is a Caucasian male, age 30-40. He is well spoken, unthreatening in appearance, and incredibly patient,” Morgan begins.

“He is very familiar with the greater Pensacola area, as evidenced by his varied dump and abduction sites,” Reid continues. “He has time to scout out locations and time to stalk his intended victims leading us to conclude he is either self-employed or un-employed.”

“His type of obsession will only manifest itself in the privacy of his own home. In some ways he’s embarrassed to be so enraptured by actresses, which is why his attacks on the women becomes so violent,” Emily explains. “If you talk to him, you wouldn’t have any red flags. But it you saw his home, you would see posters, photos, magazines displayed the same way you would display your family photos. He truly believes he is in a relationship with these women.”

“And when the fantasy is broken, he kills without remorse. His use of numbers and by not concealing the bodies is way of trying to reach out to these actresses. He wants them to know what he is willing to do for their love,” Rossi concludes.

One of the police officers raises his hands. “But how do we catch him if he’s so damn ‘normal’ when he’s out in public?”

Morgan glances at JJ, who steps forward. “I will release a press statement later this morning. It will smash his fantasy. He will be compelled to contact police to set things right. We’ll be ready to trap and trace his phone.”

“And if that doesn’t work?” another officer asks.

“Then I will prepare another statement, further insulting him. Our only chance to stop him is to force him to make a mistake by contacting us,” JJ answers.

* * *

 

At noon, Edgar Henning sits down for lunch. He had just finished raping Jamie Stevens, though in his mind it was the beautiful actress from the old “Law and Order” reruns he sees on TV. She had been in a TV movie recently and he’d been so happy to see her again. It had been a long time. He hadn’t had her since Virginia Beach. Now he has her again but she seems weaker. Must be because she’s getting older.

He turns on the TV to catch the noon news. He once again sees the beautiful blonde woman he had seen last night. He listens to her and starts to get angry. She is talking about him! No…she is   _insulting_   him! Who the hell does she think she is? Who the fuck is she to say he’s delusional? Who is she to say the women he loves don’t know he exists?

When JJ looks into the center camera, it is like she is looking directly into his eyes.

“The unknown subject we are looking for is unable to maintain a relationship with a real woman so he turns to his fantasies. His home will resemble to room of an adolescent boy, covered with posters and magazine photos of movie stars. It’s his way of trying to convince himself that he knows these women personally when the truth is they would never give him the time of day.”

He throws his plate at the TV. “NO! You stupid BITCH! You don’t fucking know what you’re talking about!” He stares at JJ’s image, her words now drowned out by the rage in his head. He feels his penis grow hard. “But you  _will_  know. You will know me intimately soon. And you will see what it is that these women love about me.”

He stands and moves to his basement door. He stomps down the stares and stares at the women chained to two of the beds. Jamie Stevens is still unconscious. His eyes move to Tiffany Abrahms. He doesn’t see Tiffany; he sees his “girlfriend” Renee Zellweger. She is awake but he can tell she is nearly gone. But he figures she’d do for now. He undoes his pants as he moves to her. He climbs on top of her as she moans in fear. He thrusts into her.

“Tell me you love me, Renee.” He thrusts harder and faster. “Tell me. Tell me. TELL ME!”

She is unable to reply, her mouth too dry, tongue swollen. He smacks her, trying to get her to respond. He bites her breast, breaking skin but still she can do nothing more than lie there and moan. He feels his erection shrink. Furious that she would dare disobey him he wraps his hands around her throat. She doesn’t even have the strength to fight as he chokes the life from her.

“Damn bitch! All you had to do was obey me. All you had to do was love me the way I love you, Renee.”

When she is dead he stands and pulls his pants back up. He stares at her a moment. He turns and heads out of the basement. He knew where her body would go but first he had to go call Jennifer Jareau. It was time for him to show her what true love really is.


	8. Chapter 8

“I want to speak to Jennifer Jareau.”

The operator on the hotline rolls her eyes. He wasn’t the first to ask for the media liaison personally. “She’s not available right now, sir. But I would be happy to pass on a message to her regarding the case she is consulting on,” she answers with the standard statement.

“This is her boyfriend. I really need to speak with her,” he insists.

The operator raises an eyebrow. This was one of the red alerts they had been told to listen for. “Of course, sir. Let me see if she’s available.” She puts him on hold and waves to the young FBI agent that is assisting with the call center. He walks over.

“Agent Reid, this man claims to be Agent Jareau’s boyfriend.”

Reid nods. “Okay, take your phone off the hotline so no other calls can come in. Then get back on the line with him telling him JJ has left the building,” he coaches the operator. Reid plugs his earphones into the woman’s phone and nods to her to continue the call.

“Sir? I’m sorry but Agent Jareau has stepped away from the building. If I can get your name and number I can have her call you back when she returns.”

“That’s okay. I see her now.” He disconnects the call.

Reid’s eyes go wide. “Oh, no.” He yanks his headset off and races towards the conference room. He lets out a sigh of relief when he finds JJ with the rest of the team. “Oh, thank God.”

“What’s wrong, Reid?” Morgan asks.

“I think the unsub just called. He said he was JJ’s boyfriend.” Emily stiffens as JJ’s eyes go wide. “When he was told she stepped out of the building he said he saw her and hung up.”

“Oh, my God. He’s abducting another woman because of me!” JJ says guiltily.

“No! Don’t say that, Jen,” Emily cautions her. “You can’t think like that. He would have taken someone—”

“Bullshit! He’s taken someone who looks like me because I insulted him. FUCK! Why the hell didn’t we see that coming?” She stands and starts to pace.

Morgan and Rossi exchange a look. “Actually, Jayje, we thought that could be a possibility,” Morgan admits.

The blonde spins around and glares at him. Her eyes move from him to Rossi to Reid and finally to Emily. She sees the guilt on her teammates faces mirrored on her wife’s face. She slowly shakes her head. “Fuck you all.” She storms out of the room.

There is a moment of silence. Emily stands and follows after JJ. Morgan picks up his phone to call Garcia and see if she can trace the last call into that particular phone. Reid and Rossi exchange a look. They hadn’t told JJ that she could become a focus of the man in case it didn’t happen. Now they realize they may have made a huge mistake.

Emily catches up to JJ in the bathroom. “Jen, please wait.”

JJ spins around, tears on her cheeks. “How COULD you? How could you let me stand out there and insult that man knowing it could lead to him zeroing in on me? He has taken someone because I said all that shit about him! He’s going to make her suffer worse than ANY of them because he doesn’t think we’re in love. He knows I despise him and some woman is going to pay because of that! FUCK YOU for not warning me and letting me decide whether or not to go through with the conference!” She pulls away as Emily reaches for her. “Leave me alone! Just leave me the fuck alone!”

She steps into a stall and locks the door. Emily leans her head against it, her gut in turmoil.

“I’m sorry, Jennifer,” she says quietly. “We were wrong. We needed him to contact us and we thought he would actually come here to confront you. You’re not an actress, he didn’t have time to build up a life with you in his head so we thought he would have to come here to get his fantasy kick-started.”

“And you didn’t think I would need to know that? Did you think that because I’m not some high and mighty profiler I couldn’t take that knowledge? That I would be too scared to do my job if I knew he was coming? I’m a fucking FBI agent just like you, Emily. Just like the guys,” JJ states, still furious and insulted. “Go to hell.”

“Jen, please, just open the door so we can talk face to face.”

“I said go to hell. I meant it,” JJ restates, her voice flat and emotionless now. “If that woman dies I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Emily squeezes her eyes shut against the tears that well in them. She knows they have done wrong by JJ. She also knows if they don’t save the JJ look-alike the unsub is focused on she may lose her wife. Emily draws back and punches the divider between the stalls. JJ jumps but says nothing. Emily walks out of the bathroom, a Grand Canyon sized hole in her heart.

JJ drops down onto the toilet and cries. She can’t believe the team has done this to her. And she can’t believe Emily went along with it. It’s a betrayal she never saw coming.


	9. Chapter 9

Stacia Head walks slowly to her car. She is trying to balance her purse, her groceries and a cake for her grandmother’s birthday. It would have been a lot easier if she hadn’t had to park behind the small grocery store but there had been no parking spaces in the tiny lot out front. She has almost made it when her purse slips from her shoulder and slides down to ram the bags on her right wrist.

“Oh, shit,” she blurts as the cake starts to unbalance. Just when she thinks it’s a lost cause, two hands grab it and steady it. She looks into friendly brown eyes and smiles. “Thank you so much.”

Edgar gives her a 1000-watt smile. “No problem. You have quite a load there.”

She chuckles. “Yeah, it’s my grandma’s birthday. Had to pick up the cake and some of the food for the family dinner tonight.” She looks the handsome man over. His light brown hair is neatly trimmed and casually feathered. He’s pretty cute, she thinks to herself. “Well, my car is just over here. Thanks again.”

She gets her purse and bags resettled and offers to take the cake back. He shakes his head.

“It’s just a few feet. I don’t mind helping.” He gives her a flirty wink. “Don’t want to disappoint Grandma, do we?”

She laughs. “No, I guess not.”

As she walks towards the car, his smile fades. He glares at her back. “ _Stupid bitch_ ,” he thinks to himself.

She unlocks the doors and opens the back door. “We can just put everything back here. I guess put the cake on the floor otherwise with my luck I’ll have to slam on the brakes and it will go flying.”

He places the cake on the floor as she puts the groceries on the back seat. “You know, you really won’t have to worry about slamming on the brakes, Jennifer,” he tells her casually.

Confused, she turns to him. “What?”

The sharp jab of a needle shocks her. Immediately her eyes start to lose focus. She doesn’t even have a chance to scream. He casually wraps an arm around her shoulders and leads her to a nearby car. As the narcotic takes full effect he slides her into the passenger seat and buckles her in. To a passerby it would look like someone resting in the car.

Edgar moves back to her car and digs through her purse. He finds her lipstick and writes the number 17 on her windshield. He tosses the tube back in the car and shuts her door. He walks across the parking lot calmly and climbs into his car. He strokes a hand down the unconscious woman’s face.

“Do you believe in love at first sight, Jennifer?” He lifts her hand and gives it a kiss as he drives to his house.


	10. Chapter 10

After JJ had finished the press conference she had gone straight into Copeland’s office with him. She had briefed him on what may or may not happen now that there was a face out to the public. As she finishes, she glances at her watch.

“Let’s go check to see if the team needs me for anything else. If not, how about dinner?”

He smiles and nods. “Sure.”

He follows her down the hall. He notices for the first time the tension radiating off of her as she addresses Morgan.

“Agent Morgan, do you need me for anything else right now?”

Morgan looks at her and sees the anger and, worse, the disappointment still in her eyes. “Not right now.”

“Good. Marty and I are going to dinner. Call me if you need me, sir.”

Morgan sighs. The “sir” was a direct jab to his heart and she knows it. Copeland looks at JJ in surprise as she turns to leave. He glances towards Emily and stops JJ.

“Uh, maybe Emily would like to join us?” he offers.

JJ turns and glares at Emily. “No. I _trust her_ to fend for herself.”

Emily winces and looks away. Morgan may have been jabbed in the heart but Emily’s heart had been blown up. As the media liaisons walk away, Morgan turns to Emily.

“Prentiss…I’m sorry. I’ll talk to her. I’ll—”

“Forget it, Derek. I knew better than to listen to you and Rossi. This is on me. Excuse me,” she walks out of the room, determined not to let him or Reid see her cry. Reid looks at Morgan.

“Morgan, it will be okay. They’ll get past this.”

“Will they? Reid, we made JJ feel like we don’t respect her as an agent. And we dragged Emily into that with us. JJ may hate us all right now but she feels betrayed most by Emily. How would you feel if Traina decided she had to protect you from your job?”

Reid quirks an eyebrow. “I’d feel…I don’t even know but it wouldn’t be good. And…and I guess…I’d have a hard time forgiving it.”

Morgan nods. Yes, Hotch was going to kill him if he didn’t fix this and soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Emily glances at her watch. Its 5:47 p.m. and she hasn’t talked to JJ since the woman told her to go to hell. And Emily knows she deserves the anger directed her way. She should have never listened to Morgan and Rossi telling her it was for the best not to tell JJ. Why the hell did she listen to them? Why the hell didn’t she fight harder for her wife? Fuck.

Morgan slides a glance towards Emily and knows she is beating herself up. He has been beating himself pretty much all afternoon, too. He cracks his neck, trying to get the tension out of his body and clear his mind. They were on their way to the latest abduction site.

“Em, we need to go into this with clear heads,” he cautions.

She slowly turns her head, a death stare on her face. “I know that, Morgan. Don’t fucking tell me my job.”

He opens his mouth to say something and realizes he really had insulted her. He shakes his head. He was making a mess of this team. Hotch was going to kill him.

When they arrive at the grocery store Morgan parks in the fire lane and follows Emily to the back lot. Crime techs are dusting the car and its’ contents for prints. Another tech takes pictures of the windshield.

“High fences on either side of the lot, hidden from anyone out front. Pretty desolate place. Perfect for our unsub to do his work unseen,” Morgan states.

“Yep,” Emily agrees. Her eyes scan around the lot. She looks at the building and her stomach does a jump. “Morgan, is that a security camera?”

He follows her eyes and sees the orb mounted high on a corner of the building. “Might be. Go check it out.”

Emily nods and heads inside the store. She sees the manager talking to a police officer and flashes her credentials. “Sir? I’m SSA Emily Prentiss with the FBI. Do you have security cameras on your back lot?”

He nods. “Yes. We have so few spaces out front sometimes our customers have to park around back. A few years ago one of our regulars was mugged so we installed the cameras to make people feel safer.”

“I need to see those tapes,” she commands.

“Of course. Follow me,” he leads her and the officer back to his office. He sits down at a table with 4 monitors on them. She sees the one on the back lot has a good view of the victims’ car and prays it will give them the information they need to find this woman before it’s too late. He rolls the digital footage backwards until he sees the man at Stacia Head’s car. He stops it.

Emily shakes her head. “No. Keep going back.”

He continues to roll the footage backwards, the three watching the abduction in reverse. Emily pulls out her phone.

“Morgan? Get in here. We have it all.”

The grocery manager is upset. He stands. “You know what you’re doing. I can’t watch this.”

He leaves the room and Emily takes his seat. She waits until Morgan arrives before running the video. They see the two people approach the car. Morgan’s eyes narrow and he pulls out his phone.

“Seavers? Make sure the techs dust the cake box for prints. The unsub touched it ungloved. We’re going to need prints from anyone who may have touched it to clear them.”

He hangs up and they watch as the unsub moves close to Head. Emily shakes her head and backs up the feed. They watch it several times.

“It looks like he stabs her with something,” the officer notes.

Morgan nods. “Yeah. Syringe maybe?”

Emily slowly shakes her head. “Maybe. It’s hard to tell from here. But it looks like whatever it is it works quickly. He’s practically carrying her away.”

Unfortunately, he had parked so close to the building that they don’t see his vehicle. And since the camera doesn’t cover the exit of the back lot they know they won’t see it as it’s leaving. So far the man had kept his face from camera view, obviously knowing it is there. But when he writes the number on the windshield, Emily’s eyes widen.

“Holy shit! He fucked up!”

“What? How?” Morgan asks.

Emily backs the feed up and rolls it slowly forward. At one point she stops it. “Look at the drivers’ side window.”

Morgan’s eyes widen as he sees the unsubs reflection. He pulls out his phone. “Garcia, I’m going to need you to clean up an image for me.”

Emily chases down the store manager and has him email the entire abduction to Garcia. The two agents hurry out of the police station as Emily calls JJ.

“Jen? We have a picture of the unsub. Garcia should be getting it to you soon.”

“Fine. Once I have it I’ll call a press conference,” she says and hangs up without saying anything more. Emily sighs and stares at the phone.

“She still pissed?” Morgan asked.

“Wouldn’t you be if we basically called you too weak to know the game plan?” Emily throws at him.

Morgan slowly nods. “Yeah. Yeah I would.”

The two make the rest of the drive in silence. As they enter the precinct they can feel the change in the air. Suddenly the police feel like there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. They know as soon as she has the image, Garcia will not only send it to JJ but she will also start facial recognition scanning in the various data bases she has access to. They pray it will be before Jamie Stevens or Stacia Head end up dead.

When Morgan’s phone rings again he stares at it and his stomach falls. He moves into an interrogation room to take it privately.

“Hey, Hotch.”

“Morgan, how’s it going down there?”

“How much do you know?” Morgan wonders, knowing the unit chief would only call if he knows something.

“Garcia told me she had a talk with JJ. Dare I ask what you all were thinking keeping her out of the loop?”

Morgan starts to pace. He had been wondering the same thing himself. “We fucked up, Hotch. I don’t know why we were so set on not telling her what we thought might happen. I know Prentiss wanted to tell her and we convinced her to keep quiet. And I also know JJ is blaming Em the most.”

Hotch sits back in his chair. He is not second guessing his team. “I’m not going to sit in judgment from afar, Derek. That’s not fair to you or the others. But I will say you need to set things right with JJ. And I will warn you it won’t be easy.”

“Yeah, I know.” Morgan drops down onto a chair. “How are you doing being back?”

“It’s been…well, not hard but different. I think it helped that you all weren’t here to profile me all day,” he admits honestly.

Morgan can’t help but smile. “I bet. Look, we were able to get an image off a security camera. I need to go see where we are with a press conference.” He pauses a moment. “I’m damn glad you’re back, Hotch.”

“Me, too, Morgan. And Morgan? Good luck. With everything.”

“Thanks, man. Talk to you later.”

Morgan disconnects and sits a moment gathering his thoughts. He will be very happy to turn the team back over to Hotch. He finally stands and heads into the conference room. “Status?” he says.

Reid turns to him. “Garcia said she should have a decent image in about 20 minutes. JJ and Copeland are calling their media contacts to set up a press conference at 7:30. Rossi and Steavers are meeting with Head’s family.”

Morgan nods. “Good. Let’s hope this comes to an end before that bastard can hurt Head or kill the other two women.”

Emily and Reid exchange a look then look back to Morgan. “Oh, shit,” Emily says. “Morgan, he never takes another victim until another one is dead.”

The three agents turn and stare at the two women that had been missing. What are the chances both women are still alive? Maybe he had been so angry at JJ he broke pattern and now has 3 live victims. Maybe. Morgan runs his hands over his face. Doubtful. But maybe.


	12. Chapter 12

When Emily returns to the hotel at midnight she finds JJ already in bed. She slowly walks over and stands, staring down at her wife.

“I know you’re not asleep, Jen,” her voice breaks. JJ rolls over so her back is to Emily. “God, Jen, I’m sorry. I just…I’m sorry. There’s no excuse.” She kneels down beside JJ. “I don’t know why I didn’t fight harder, why I didn’t just tell you. I’m a fucking ass, Jen. You are a damn fine agent. I’ve told off I don’t know how many people over the years who tried to say you were ‘just’ a media liaison. You are so much more than that. Hell, but for a few classes and certifications, you’re a profiler, too. You can do this job as well if not better than us. Please tell me I can make this right. Please?”

Emily stares at JJ for a few more minutes. It finally becomes obvious that JJ is not going to respond. The older woman stands and heads into the bathroom. She is broken inside. JJ slowly rolls back over, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“I don’t know if you can,” JJ whispers in the dark.

* * *

 

At 4:15 a.m. Emily’s phone starts to ring. It wakes neither of them.

“Prentiss,” she croaks out.

“They found Tiffany Abrahms body,” Morgan says without preamble.

Emily sighs. “I’ll meet you downstairs in five.”

She hangs up the phone and stares at the ceiling. She slowly turns her head to the woman beside her. JJ is on her side facing away from Emily. She lays on the very edge of the bed as far from her wife as she can get. The emotional chasm between them is even wider. It takes Emily a moment to speak.

“They found…” she has to clear her throat. “They found Abrahms. I’m going with Morgan.”

“Okay,” JJ replies emotionlessly.

Emily stands and begins to get dressed. As she pulls her hair back into a ponytail, JJ finally speaks.

“Did he kill her so he could take someone that looks like me?”

Emily’s movements falter. She looks towards her wife. “I…I don’t know, Jen. I just don’t know.”

JJ nods and rolls over, ending the conversation. Emily walks over and squeezes JJ’s shoulder. “I love you, Jennifer.”

“I…I…I’ll see you at the station later,” JJ finally manages.

Emily takes a shuddering breath. The only way she will survive this case is to feel nothing. She closes her eyes and reopens a compartment she had long ago discarded. She shoves her emotions and love for JJ inside and slams it shut. When she speaks again, JJ can tell what has happened. “Get there early. You’ll be busy,” she tells her wife flatly.

Emily grabs her gun and credentials and walks out of the room. The Emily Prentiss of old is back: emotionless, distant, all business. When Morgan sees her walk off the elevator he can see the change. He shakes his head.

“Emily, don’t do this. Don’t shut us out.”

“We have a job to do, Morgan. Let’s go.”

He wants to argue but now is not the time. He follows her and drives them to the new dump site. Detective Seavers is already there.

“Medical examiner hasn’t arrived yet,” he tells them.

“Who found her?” Morgan questions.

“Homeless guy. Thought she was hurt and he might get a reward for helping her.” He gestures to a bench about 50 yards away. “A uniform is talking to him now in case he might have seen anything.”

“We should get so lucky,” Morgan laments.

Emily has squatted down near the body. With a gloved hand she moves the woman’s shirt enough to see her neck. “Manual strangulation. That’s new. He killed her, Morgan. She didn’t just succumb to the wounds.” She stands and looks at him. “What do you want to bet her death was around the time of the news conference?”

He shakes his head. “Not taking that bet.”

“Why won’t he keep more than 2 at a time? Look at her, Morgan! It’s not like she’d have been difficult to control. She’s got the same ligature marks as the others so he’s got them restrained. She could still be alive! Why can there only be two?”

These are all good questions. What are they missing in the unsubs profile? They’d seen him now. He was in good shape, decent looking, smart. He shouldn’t have trouble controlling as many women as he wants.

Seavers looks at the two agents. “Maybe it’s a wife and a girlfriend?”

The profilers look at the detective. “What?” Emily asks intrigued.

“Maybe in his mind he’s married to one and having an affair with the other. The women may not even know they are in the same place.” He shakes his head. “Never mind. That’s dumb.”

Morgan claps the man on the shoulder. “That’s a damn good theory. And it may just be right.”

Seavers looks up in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah. It adds to his thrill to think he’s got two beautiful actresses in love with him. But any more than that and he either doesn’t have the room to keep them separated or he doesn’t have enough time to keep them beaten down if he has too many. When they can still interrupt his delusion it’s probably harder for him to rape them. He needs them compliant. Or at least not able to correct him when he calls them by the wrong name,” Emily confirms. “Morgan, that has to be it.”

“So he’s got his wife and girlfriend right now. Let’s pray Garcia finds something somewhere that gives us this bastards name before either one dies.”

Morgan stares down at the woman they had failed. He prays she will be the last one the unsub kills.


	13. Chapter 13

Edgar stares at the woman lying in front of him. She is still whimpering from the first rape but he is eager to take her again. He straddles her waist.

“Tell me your name.”

“St—Stacia.”

He slaps her across the face. “LIAR! Tell me your name!”

She starts to cry harder. “What d—do you wa—want me to s—say?”

He leans down, his hands choking her slightly. “I want you to tell me your name!” he whispers menacingly. He releases her throat.

“It’s St—Stacia He—Head.”

“NO!” He leans down and viciously bites her breast, his erection growing as she lets out a bloodcurdling scream. He pulls out a Zippo lighter, the silhouette of a naked woman on the face of it. “Tell me your name.” He flips open the lighter and strikes it, holding the flame in front of her face.

“I…I told y—you,” she whines, not understanding what she should say to make the man stop.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” he scolds. “You are a liar. Maybe this will burn those lies out of you.”

He places the flame against her breast. She screams at the unrelenting pain. His erection is now painful. He flips the lighter closed and pulls his pants down quickly, eager to take the woman while she is still in the throes of agony. Her screams don’t stop until he finishes. He strokes a hand down her cheek.

“I love you, Jennifer. You’re going to be my favorite star yet.”

Stacia whimpers not understanding why this man is doing this to her. “Please…pl--please let m--me go. I sw—swear I won’t t—t--tell. I swear.”

“Oh, no, Jennifer. I’ll never let you go. Not until death do us part.”


	14. Chapter 14

At 7:30 that morning Morgan gets a call from Garcia.

“Please tell me you have good news for me, Baby Girl.”

“I have good news but don’t you dare call me ‘Baby Girl,’” The analyst replies.

Morgan squeezes his eyes shut, hating the reprimand and disappointment he can hear in Garcia’s voice. “I’m sorry, Garcia. I swear I will try to make things right with JJ and Emily.”

“You’d better. Now, check your email. I have the unsubs name and 3 possible addresses for him. And Morgan?”

“Yes, Garcia?”

“I hope you know what you did was really shitty.”

He sighs. “I know. I said I’d fix it. I will. I promise.”

“Good. Garcia out,” she says as she hangs up.

Morgan stares at the phone for a moment. He should have known Garcia was pissed. How was he going to fix this? There had to be a way. He turns to look at the team, which is gathered around the conference room table downing coffee as if there is no tomorrow.

“Okay, guys, Garcia found a match to the picture of the unsub. That match came with three addresses. Let’s take a look at them.”

He pulls up the three addresses and reads them out to those gathered around the table. Reid stands and marks each place on the map.

“Okay, Seavers, is there anything about these addresses that make them a long shot?”

Seavers stares at them. “Well, this one,” he points to the first dot, “is an apartment complex. Could be where he lives but doubt that he would have the women there. No privacy.”

“Okay, cross that one off the list,” Morgan agrees.

“These other two are good possibilities. They are old family neighborhoods which probably mean a good distance between houses. That would give him the privacy he needs.”

“According to the autopsy reports, the women had minor Vitamin D deficiencies. That could mean lack of sunlight so maybe a basement,” Emily points out.

Morgan looks at her and nods. It is obvious the woman has gotten no sleep but she is still doing the job. His respect for her increases 10 fold. Seavers looks at Morgan.

“I’m not sure if they have basements or not,” he admits.

Morgan pulls his phone and calls Garcia back.

“Technical analyst Garcia’s office,” she answers efficiently. The whole team winces, knowing she is rebuking them.

“Garcia, can your records tell you if the first and third address you sent me have basements?”

“Allow me to check, sir.” They hear her tapping on the keyboard. “Sir, both addresses have basements.”

“Garcia, has either address had any recent construction, say something that might soundproof it or create a cell of some sort?” Rossi asks.

After more typing, Garcia gives them good news. “The third house recently had a permit for a basement access installation. It looks like it was completed 6 weeks ago.”

“Just before the kidnappings started,” Reid points out.

Emily had been reading over the bio of the unsub that Garcia had sent. “This guy is ex-Navy. He didn’t leave because he wanted to. Garcia, did you happen to ‘accidently’ access his military records?”

“I did, Agent Prentiss.” Emily flinches, not daring to look at JJ. “He was discharged when his imagination started to interfere with his work.”

“In other word, his delusions started coming to the surface,” Emily concludes. “Are there like crimes at his last duty station?”

“Yes, there are. And, as you can guess, his last station was NAS Oceana,” Garcia confirms.

“Great job, Ba—uh, Analyst Garcia,” Morgan ends the call.

“So, we need to storm the third address, right?” Seavers asks.

“Right. But it’s got to be a small team in. Too many people will spook him and the women will be killed.” Morgan looks around the room. “Prentiss, Reid, Rossi, you’ll take the basement access. Seavers, JJ and I will go in the front. Be ready to go in 10. JJ, a word please?”

He gestures out the door. JJ stands and follows him down the hall to an interrogation room. He closes the door behind them.

“I ordered Emily not to tell you and I know now that was wrong. It’s not that we didn’t trust you to do the job. I trust you with my life and I trust you with the lives of the women we are going to save. But I didn’t want you to hesitate even slightly when speaking with the media so we held back that he could target you.”

“Morgan, that’s fine. But afterwards you could have told me. You didn’t have to let it be sprung on me the way it was. And Emily sure as fuck shouldn’t have treated me like a fucking princess that has to be protected from evil. I’m tired of people acting like I’m not a real FBI agent because I’m a liaison. _Sick_   of it, Morgan.” She raises her hand to stop his next statement. “I can’t talk about this now. We have to save those two women. Let’s just go.”

She turns and walks out of the room. Morgan shakes his head, frustrated that he can’t seem to reach JJ. And scared that he has destroyed the young marriage of two of his best friends.


	15. Chapter 15

Emily keys the mike on her Kevlar vest. “Morgan, we’re in position,” she whispers.

“Okay. We’re going to knock and see if he comes to the door. Be ready to enter on my call.”

“Got it.”

Morgan taps on the front door and rings the doorbell. He waits a minute then knocks again. “Edgar Henning, this is the FBI. We need to speak with you. Please open the door.”

He still hears nothing.

In the back, Emily glances at Reid and Rossi. They had both heard the woman scream. Emily keys her mike.

“Morgan, someone screamed. We need to go in. Now!”

“Copy. Make entry.”

Emily looks at the men beside her and raises a hand. She silently counts down 3-2-1 then kicks in the back door. As soon as she enters, she comes to a stop as she stares at Edgar holding a knife to Stacia Head’s neck. He holds her close, no body shot available. Nor can Reid or Rossi follow her in the basement door without spooking the man. She might be able to take out his shoulder but it would be a tight shot. His head is close to Stacia’s, making that shot nearly impossible, too. She hears Reid letting Morgan know the situation.

“Edgar Henning, I’m Emily Prentiss of the FBI. Release the woman and surrender your weapon.”

He smiles at her and kisses Stacia’s cheek. “I don’t think so. I love Jennifer and she loves me. We’ll spend eternity together.”

Emily stares down the barrel of her gun. The man’s smile never falters. The knife he holds against the blonde woman’s throat is steady.

“Let her go or I will shoot,” Emily tells him.

“No you won’t. None of you will. Not while I have her,” he pulls the woman tighter to his chest, making her whimper involuntarily.

Emily’s trigger finger tenses then relaxes. She knows the rest of her team is there but she is the only one with the right angle, the only one who can possibly stop this man before another woman dies.

“No one else has to die, Edgar. You can walk out of here alive if you put the knife down.”

“Let’s see…alive in a cell knowing I gave up the chance to kill one last, wonderful time or death as I get off once more?” He leers at her. “It really is orgasmic, you know. Have you killed before Agent Prentiss?”

She doesn’t answer but faces flash through her mind. She remembers everyone who had died at her hands.

“Yes…yes, you have. I can tell. I can see it in your eyes. Are you eager to make another tombstone? Eager to send another bastard to hell? Or are you too scared you’ll hit her?” He draws his tongue up his captives’ ear. The crying woman shivers, fear leaving her speechless.

Emily ignores his sexually aggressive act. She ignores the torn blouse, the missing pants of his captive. She doesn’t allow herself to see the tell-tale bruising on the woman’s inner thighs. She avoids glancing at the one exposed breast covered in burns and bite marks. She will not stare into the terrified blue eyes.

“Edgar, if you kill her I kill you. You will never even get the chance to celebrate her death. You won’t be able to relive any of the deaths. You die and the world goes on. You will be forgotten, your kills never thought of again by anyone. But you put that knife down and let her go then everyone will want to talk to you, to find out about why you did what you did. You’ll be the toast of the criminal town.”

“Ooo, you really do know the way to a murderers’ heart, don’t you, Emily. May I call you Emily?”

“Put the knife down and you can call me whatever you like,” she replies.

He stares into Emily’s eyes. He knows she won’t let him walk out of here with his hostage. But he can see she’s emotional. The beauty of his own twisted soul is his lack of emotions. Edgar doesn’t care about anyone’s life. Emily cares about the woman he holds. And that is why she will lose even if she wins.

“I don’t think so, Emily. I think it’s time to see who’s faster: me or you?”

Emily’s eyes narrow. It’s the end. She sees his arm tense and the knife start to slide across the beaten woman’s throat.

She fires.


	16. Chapter 16

Morgan, Seavers, and JJ had held at the top of the stairs to keep from startling the unsub. As soon as they hear the shot they race down the stairs. They see Emily pulling the woman away, Edgar rolling around in pain, his right arm nearly blown off at the socket.

Emily sees the knife on the ground near the unsub and goes to kick it away. In a rage, he grabs her leg and yanks her to the ground on top of him. He fights to get a hold of her gun, blood from his arm flying into her eyes and blurring her vision. Suddenly two hands are yanking them apart. Morgan ignores the man’s howl of pain as he slams Edgar face first onto the ground. Reid runs to Emily, checking on her.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Fine. Help the women,” Emily mutters, trying to wipe her eyes and face clean.

“JJ and Seavers have the women. Here,” he pulls out a handkerchief. “Let me help.”

He carefully wipes away the blood on Emily’s face. The first thing she sees over his shoulder is JJ holding the terrified Stacia Head. It strikes Emily in the heart that Edgar could have easily gone after JJ, and not a surrogate. Emily pushes to her feet.

“I’ll go guide the EMT’s in.”

She walks up the stairs to meet the medical personnel. JJ just watches her go.

* * *

 

By 2:30 that afternoon most of the team is at the hotel to get ready for the trip home. Only JJ is still at the station, fielding questions from reporters. Emily turns on the TV in the hotel room and catches the breaking news update. She watches JJ work, not really hearing or caring about what she says. They had not spoken at the unsubs house. Emily wasn’t sure they would ever speak to each other again.

“Fuck this,” Emily mutters. “Love means pain. I should have remembered that.”

She quickly finishes changing and packs her bags. She texts Morgan that she’d meet them at the airfield then catches a cab, not wanting to deal with JJ at this time. She was busy trying to bury her feelings for JJ in a brick compartment. She needed time for the cement to set and the last thing she wanted was time alone with the blonde.

By the time the rest of the team arrives at the airfield, Emily is on the plane asleep, her Ipod on loud enough for them to hear. It is obvious to everyone she wants to be left alone. JJ is also making it clear she wants time to herself. It is a very uncomfortable 2 hour journey home.

As the team exits the elevator on their floor they find Hotch waiting for them. They take the time to welcome him back but he can see the light is gone from their eyes. He watches as Emily and JJ split up with not even a glance to each other. He looks at Morgan.

“My office?” Morgan nods and follows Hotch.

Hotch shuts the door as Morgan drops down onto the couch. Hotch goes to his desk and pulls out a bottle of scotch and a glass. He holds it up, silently asking Morgan if he needs a drink.

“Oh, hell yeah,” Morgan says.

Hotch pours him a generous amount and moves to the sitting area, taking a seat across from Morgan.

“So, what do we do to fix this?” Hotch asks.

Morgan takes a sip of the burning liquid before answering. “You’re not going to chew my ass out? Bust me out of the BAU for this fuck up?”

Hotch gives him a small grin. “No more martyrs, Morgan. We’ve had enough death here lately.”

Morgan nods. “I’ll drink to that.” He takes another drink. Hotch gives him a moment, knowing Morgan is gathering his thoughts. “I didn’t listen to Rossi, Reid or Emily. They all felt I should tell JJ everything we thought might happen but I was worried she might somehow let him know we were setting him up.”

“Morgan, what made you think that she would suddenly forget herself? That she would suddenly ignore all her training and give away info we didn’t want her to? Why didn’t you think she could do the job?”

Morgan knows Hotch really wants an answer. He leans back on the couch and thinks about his answer. When he answers, he hates himself for it.

“She’s been different lately. She’s been questioning her place here versus her place as Henry’s mother. She hasn’t once done something to make her work questionable but I still reacted to her emotions. I didn’t give her the benefit of the doubt because…because I didn’t want her to mess up my last case as head of this team. I wanted to bring home one more win.” He leans forward, elbows on his knees, his face in his hands. “I put myself, my record above the team. Hotch how the hell do I fix this? Emily and JJ…they aren’t talking. Emily’s gone all compartmental again. JJ’s just ignoring us unless it has to do with work. What do I do?”

“I think you know what you have to do. I just hope they give you the chance to do it,” Hotch says sympathetically.

Morgan nods and downs the last of the scotch. He walks out and sees Emily sitting at her desk staring at a letter. He walks down to her.

“Emily? Can we talk?”

She stands. “Later. I need to see Hotch.”

She doesn’t even look at him as she walks past him. With a shake of his head he goes to JJ’s office. He knocks and tries the doorknob. For the first time he can remember, it’s locked. He knocks again. The door opens a crack.

“What?”

“Jayje, can we talk? Please?”

“Not right now. I’ve got work to do then I’m going to pick Henry up and head to my parents house for the weekend.”

“All three of you?” he asks hopefully.

“No. Excuse me.” She shuts the door in his face.

Morgan is at a loss. He can’t make things right if the women won’t even speak to him. He heads back into the bull pen and sees Emily packing to leave. Maybe she and JJ would get to work things out this weekend. He walks over to her.

“Emily, if you all need anything this weekend, please give me a—”

“I won’t be home. I’ve been subpoenaed to testify in a trial that starts Monday. I’m leaving tonight so I can meet with the prosecutors this weekend,” she tells him emotionlessly.

“Emily, please, talk to me—”

“I’ve got nothing to say to you, Morgan. Nothing at all. You gave an order, I followed it. Case closed. See you sometime next week.” She grabs her bag and heads out of the bullpen. She knocks on JJ’s door. JJ opens it.

“I don’t want to do this here,” the blonde states.

Emily ignores the comment and hands JJ the keys to the SUV. “I’ve got to go to Montana for a court appearance. I’m going to pick up clothes and leave. I’ll take a cab.” They stare at each other a few moments, then Emily looks away. “Can…can I go see Henry before I go?”

JJ’s heart leaps into her throat. She nods. “Yes. Of course,” she answers quietly.

“Thanks. I’ll…I’ll see you next week.”

“Yeah. Next week,” JJ agrees.

Emily turns and walks away, her heart breaking. JJ hadn’t tried to stop her. JJ hadn’t said she loved her. Why the hell wasn’t her compartmentalizing stopping this fucking pain?

JJ shuts the door to her office and slides down the door to the floor, tears pouring from her eyes. Why didn’t Emily fight for them? Why didn’t she say she loved her?

Unknown to them, each woman had the same final thought: How could things have gotten so bad so quickly?


End file.
